Pandaren Revelation
by TheKaizoku
Summary: Lorewalker Cho explores an ancient structure and finds himself reliving the final days of the Pandaren Revolution, which occurred more than 10 000 years ago, through the eyes of a person who had experienced the events firsthand. Soon, Cho discovers that this unsung hero is not what he appears to be.
1. Prologue

Lorewalker Cho, Taran Zhu and Zhi the Harmonious stood outside the structure, with members of their respective organisations they led standing behind them.

"A Lorewalker chanced upon this site when taking a walk after a heavy downpour. Investigations reveal that this building used to be buried under soil, but I guess the soil was washed off by rain," Cho explained. "We were unsure of what this is, so we requested for the presence of the Golden Lotus and Shado-Pan to explore the structure with us Lorewalkers."

"Smart move," Taran complimented. "After all, anything could be found inside this building. Perhaps an ancient mogu construct, or a lurking Sha. It is better to have some sense of security."

"Alright, I'm going to open the doors now," Cho said.

He walked up to the double doors, grabbed the handles and pulled them open. The doors were surprisingly heavy. Cho examined the interior of the building and the first thing that struck him was how clean the place was. It did not look anything like a building which had been undiscovered for a long time.

Yalia Sagewhisper, head of the Omnia discipline of the Shado-Pan, announced, "I sense no evil spell or trap of any sort. It is safe to enter."

"The architecture is no doubt pandaren, but there might be some kind of mogu architectural influence," Cho remarked to his fellow Lorewalkers, who nodded their heads in agreement, as the party strolled down the hallway of the building.

Zhi said, "There are many scrolls and paintings around, and I presume these will be very valuable to the Lorewalkers. But when you do find out the stories behind them, do impart them to us. Many of the Golden Lotus, including me, wish to know more of the land which we are protecting."

"I will make a mental note of that," Cho replied.

At the end of the hallway was a rotunda, where a large statue stood. The statue was made out of stone and though time had made the statue worn out, it unmistakably represented a troll.

"Seems like some kind of museum or shrine dedicated to something or someone, maybe someones," a Lorewalker deduced. "All the scrolls and paintings, and now this statue. But it looks like this is all the building has to show us."

Cho inspected the statue closely and found a plaque mounted on the statue's pedestal. It read, "In memory of the great Zandalari troll, Zilinto. Without his assistance, the Pandaren Revolution might had never come to fruition."

"What's this, an unknown hero of the Pandaren Revolution?" Many of the people present were surprised.

Taran and Zhi, meanwhile, were walking around the rotunda, surveying the area intently. Zhi's attention eventually fell upon a loose brick on one side of the pedestal. However, when Zhi tried to pull the loose brick, nothing happened. Zhi decided to try the opposite – pushing the brick.

As levers, pulleys and screws whirled to life for the first time in presumably millennia, an undecorated section of the rotunda slid down into the ground, revealing a staircase behind the false wall.

"This day is getting more and more interesting," Taran muttered as he descended the stairwell.

Reaching the bottom of the staircase, the party found a stone door with words carved onto its surface.

"Hmm, this is a much older form of the mogu tongue we speak in today," Cho mumbled. "Let's see if I can read it correctly."

"I am favoured by the murlocs of the land. I am light and small but I can bring the downfall of many. What am I?"

The answer was almost as plain as day to those familiar with Pandaria and its cultures. The answer to the riddle was the Ashwing Moth, which had been used by jinyu assassins since time immemorial as a portable decoy and to reveal weak spots in enemy armour.

"I guess we need to get an Ashwing Moth over here, then," Cho said. "By any chance, do any of you here have an Ashwing Moth with you, or at a nearby convenient location?"

Very fortunately for them, a Golden Lotus jinyu, who had been trained in the ways of the assassin, had brought along an Ashwing Moth and hastily set it free.

The light which the moth gave out removed illusory magic hiding a doorknob. With the doorknob's addition, the stone door could now be opened.

Through the door was a small chamber. In the middle of the chamber was a wall with the familiar Lorewalker crest on it, in front of which was a chest.

Cho opened the chest and found several contents inside, including an orb. Upon laying his hands on the orb, a bright light engulfed the room and Cho was transported millennia back in time, seeing the world in the eyes of the Zandalari troll, Zilinto.


	2. Chapter 1

Zilinto watched as the mogu diplomat, flanked by six mogu and Gurubashi soldiers, walked along the Gurubashi quarter of Zuldazar, capital city of the Zandalar trolls. The diplomat, Buyuk, was dressed in regal armour and had a sheathed sword at his waist.

Drawing the mithril spear that was slung over his shoulder, Zilinto leapt off the shack, the invisibility spell shrouding him simultaneously disappearing. With a battlecry, Zilinto thrust the spear into a mogu soldier's forehead, cracking the skull and piercing his brain, killing him almost immediately.

The remaining five soldiers drew their weapons, forming a circle around Zilinto as Buyuk watched from a relatively safe distance. Zilinto parried a swing from a Gurubashi's mace and seized the opportunity to disarm him. He finished the unarmed soldier off with a slash to the neck.

"Surrender, Zandalari!" another troll soldier demanded. "There is no way you can defeat all of us!"

"I never said I wanted to defeat all of you," Zilinto sheathed his spear and raised both his hands, seemingly wanting to surrender.

The ground beneath Buyuk shook a little, before a spike made out of earth shot up, impaling the mogu. Zilinto smirked, summoning a totem and then walking away like nothing ever happened. The soldiers tried to give chase but found that they could not move, thanks to the totem's ability.

Roughly an hour later, Won'jin, a Darkspear troll loyal to the Zandalar as well as the person in charge of all troll troops in Zuldazar, rushed into the palace. King Khuari was surprised to see Won'jin panicking and alone.

"What's the matter, General? Where is the diplomat that's scheduled to see me? Calm down and tell me what has happened."

"My King, there's trouble! The mogu diplomat, Buyuk, was killed while touring the Gurubashi quarter!" Won'jin revealed. "I am told that the killer, a Zandalari, is quite adept at magic and the spear. It seems that he must not be taken lightly."

"Lockdown Zuldazar at once!" Khuari ordered. "The mogu will be infuriated. Catching the perpetrator will help to quell their anger. We must not allow the killer to escape!"

Amani, Gurubashi and Zandalari soldiers were swiftly mobilised to lock Zuldazar down, herding the residents back to their homes and keeping an eye out for any male Zandalari who looked like he was a strong magic user and armed with a mithril spear. However, no matter how hard they found, the killer would never be found in Zuldazar, for Zilinto had left the city before the lockdown was imposed, riding away on a raptor.

Eight hours of nearly non-stop riding later, Zilinto came upon a clearing in the jungles at the edge of the Zandalar mountain range, where on its highest peaks stood Zuldazar. In the middle of the clearing was a hut, with all sorts of physical and invisible magical deterrents to protect and hide it from unwanted visitors. Outside the hut was a pandaren busy roasting meat on a spit.

"Tieshao," Zilinto called out, walking towards him. "I'm done. The target has been eliminated."

The pandaren turned around and nodded his head, appeased. "Very likely, the mogu will be angered by Buyuk's death and ties between the Zandalari and mogu will be strained. Well done."

It was strange to see a pandaren in Zandalari territory, especially since their allies, the mogu, were at war with the pandaren. But Tieshao was not here to settle down and live the rest of his days in peace, he was here to help the revolution's followers that were based in Zandalari territory. Aside from being a trusted partner of Kang, the man who had founded the revolution, Tieshao was one of the few pandaren able to wield magic, having secretly learned it while serving a troll shaman.

"Now, on to more pressing matters," Tieshao said. "I've received word that several pandaren slaves have been transported to Zul'Gurub, capital of the Gurubashi Empire. Those slaves are considered a great threat to the mogu, and were sent away so that the likeliness of them joining the ongoing revolution will be significantly lesser. Jarod Shadowsong, our night elf ally, awaits you in Zul'Gurub, disguised as a Zandalari priest named Kol'thum."

Zilinto, wanting to get to Zul'Gurub, which was over a week away by raptor and about half the time on dragonhawk, decided to teleport straight to the Gurubashi capital. Zilinto stood in the middle of the clearing, shutting his eyes and uttering an incantation.

When Zilinto opened his eyes seconds after finishing the incantation, he could now spot the stone walls that surrounded Zul'Gurub in the horizon.

Seeing the Zandalari approach the city gates, the two Gurubashi soldiers guarding them took a bow, acknowledging his presence. The Zandalari trolls were generally respected by the other troll tribes, seeing them as a priest caste that valued knowledge and were able to look after themselves.

"Greetings to you," Zilinto said to the two soldiers. "Do you know of a fellow kinsman of mine named Kol'thum?"

"Ah, yes," the two soldiers had a flicker of recognition on their faces. "We happened to be on duty when he passed through the city gates a few days ago. A unique name he had, and he seemed to have an aura of greatness around him. I hear the priest is staying with a Gurubashi voodooist in the southeastern edge of the city."

True enough, Kol'thum aka Jarod was residing in the southeastern edge of Zul'Gurub, in particular a small shack. There was no Gurubashi voodooist, however, that had been a lie.

"I was wondering when you'd come," Jarod reverted back to his night elf form. His hair was jet black and the fur cloak he wore made him look mighty. "The pandaren speak highly of you. I hope you do not disappoint, troll."

"Do revert back to your troll form. I suggest we free the slaves as soon as possible. I've done something in Zuldazar which could heighten security here in Zul'Gurub."

"Yes, I've heard of your work. The killing of the mogu diplomat, it was your work, wasn't it?" Jarod paused for a moment, before realising that they were digressing. "Anyway, we should get started."

As they walked along Zul'Gurub, the night elf in disguise had his doubts on Zilinto. Sure, he looked like a troll, talked like one and even smelled like one, but there was something about him that was amiss.

The pandaren slaves were being held in a prison compound which had been built into the mountains around the city. Four Gurubashi soldiers stood guard at the entrance to the compound.

"Halt," a soldier used his polearm to stop the two Zandalari trolls from moving forward. "State your business here."

"We were sent by King Khuari to retrieve the pandaren slaves that are imprisoned here," Kol'thum lied flawlessly.

The four soldiers were slightly skeptical. "Just two of you, to escort an entire group of slaves to wherever you're heading to? They might be unarmed slaves, but I'm sure you two know of the ongoing revolution. They can be a danger."

"You underestimate us?" Zilinto questioned haughtily, letting his aura surge with power and danger.

Despite being non-magic users, the Gurubashi soldiers could feel the aura emanating strongly from Zilinto. Their faces paled slightly and they immediately parted to allow the two Zandalari to pass through.

"After you, comrade," Kol'thum told Zilinto, gesturing at the entrance.


	3. Chapter 2

Zilinto and Kol'thum walked to the cells where the pandaren slaves were being held. Their accommodation was pitiful and inhumane. The cell was barely large enough to house all the pandaren, about twenty of them, and there was nothing in the cell except for a cold, bare floor.

Placing a hand on the door, Kol'thum concentrated his mind and focused on it. In an instant, the doors vanished. There was no trace of the cell doors having ever been there.

"My thanks, but how are we going to get out of the city? After all, this is the capital of the Gurubashi Empire, not some isolated settlement. We might be adept in combat, but we will be swarmed by enemy trolls very quickly should we enter combat," a pandaren slave asked.

Kol'thum responded, "Gather near me, everyone. I can get us out of here quietly and quickly."

The other Zandalari troll placed a hand on Kol'thum's shoulder, shaking his head. "I have a better plan. Watch me, and be prepared. It's going to get a little messy."

Silence ensued for approximately half a minute while the pandaren and Kol'thum stared at Zilinto, puzzled as to what he was doing.

"Alright, let's hold our ground here for...two minutes, I estimate," Zilinto told the others. "Make sure not to leave the compound. We don't need any unneeded deaths in the ensuing chaos."

Over the next two minutes, three patrols of Gurubashi soldiers encountered the two Zandalari trolls and the pandaren slaves, though they were silenced before others could be alerted to the escape.

Suddenly, a cacophony of alarm bells and screams, along with other indiscernible sounds, erupted outside the prison compound. Alarm bells within the underground compound rang as well.

"Alright, the prison should now be relatively empty," Zilinto declared. "Let's make a move."

Emerging from the prison compound, they were greeted by an awe-inspiring sight. Five red drakes had launched an assault on Zul'Gurub. Assault was not really the word, since the drakes did not seem to be trying to raze the entire city or kill anyone, except for soldiers who were attacking them. They were more of a distraction, bringing attention away from something else that was happening, which in this case was the escape of the pandaren slaves.

"You called them?" Kol'thum turned to look at Zilinto. "Dragons of the Red Dragonflight?"

"I…have an affinity with the Red Dragonflight, you see. I helped them before, now they're helping me," Zilinto lied. "This is not the main issue right now. We should be focusing on getting out of Zul'Gurub."

Letting out a shrill, penetrating whistle, Zilinto caught the attention of the red drakes. The first drake to arrive landed on the ground, crushing a building or two in the process.

"Get on the dragon," Zilinto told the pandaren and Kol'thum. Seeing them give him a strange look, Zilinto gave them an assuring nod.

The pandaren slaves were equally divided on two drakes, while Zilinto and Kol'thum shared the third drake. The five drakes proceeded to depart from Zul'Gurub, with the two dragons that were not carrying any passengers protecting the others that were.

Landing in Kun-Lai Summit, heart of the rebels trying to overthrow the mogu, they were initially met with alarm by defenders. But after seeing the pandaren as well as Jarod Shadowsong, the defenders calmed down and allowed the drakes to land.

Kang himself had been inside the monastery, headquarters of the revolution, when the drakes landed. He emerged from the building to see what was going on.

"You non-pandarens never fail to amaze me. Using dragons to transport my people back home!" Kang commented. "Jarod Shadowsong, you are nothing short of a boon to the revolution. It is an honour to finally meet you in person. May I ask, is it you who summoned the dragons?"

"Likewise. A person who is courageous enough to break the bonds of oppression and lead his or her kinsmen is rare. You have earned my admiration, Kang, Fist of First Dawn. And to answer your question, no, I did not summon them. It was Zilinto over here who did so," Jarod said, bowing his head.

Next, Kang turned to Zilinto and shook his hand. "Pleasure to meet you again, Zilinto. First, I must thank you and Jarod for freeing my people. You must tell me sometime how you managed to summon red dragons to help!"

"Don't mention it," Zilinto said humbly as the drakes deposited the last of the pandaren slaves and flew away. "As for the dragons, that's a story for another day. Since Jarod and I are already here, do tell us your further plans for the revolution? Your forces have already driven the mogu away from the Mogu'shan Vaults, depriving them from using the Engine of Nalak'sha to create more constructs. But what are you planning for the future? The mogu still stand and many pandaren are still in slavery."

Kang nodded his head and said, "Come with me into the monastery. I'll show you my plans."

Jarod and Zilinto followed the pandaren into the monastery, which was guarded by a combination of pandaren and yaungol. The atmosphere in the monastery was serene and calm, worlds apart from the atmosphere of danger and determination in the rebel camp built around the monastery.

A white tiger inside the monastery, noticing the new arrivals, walked slowly towards them. The white tiger took his time to study Jarod and Zilinto, strangely spending much longer time on the latter, before retreating to a corner of the monastery.

"That is Xuen, the August Celestial," Kang introduced. "He's been imprisoned in Kun-Lai Summit for many years now, since he was defeated by the mogu emperor, Lei Shen."

"But for not much longer I shall be imprisoned. When the mogu are overthrown, I shall regain the power I have lost," a commanding and powerful voice filled the monastery. "Kang, you never told me you had acquaintances so...special. Nevermind, I'll leave you all to your business for now."

Kang led the two of them to a table in the centre of the monastery. On the table was a map of the Mogu Empire.

"This is where we are," Kang pointed to a small reed cane on the northern portion of the map. His finger shifted slightly southwards, coming upon a differently-shaped reed cane. "This is where the Mogu'shan Vaults are located."

Near the middle of the map was a black dot. Kang explained, "This is the Mogu'shan Palace, in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Other black dots you see on the map represent currently known enemy settlements and locations, while the reed canes represent friendly sites."

Taking a petal shred, Kang told them, "These represent the last-known positions of friendly units. As you can see, there are quite a few in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Those allies are currently holding their ground, waiting for the order to push to Mogu'shan Palace. On the northwest of this map you'll see a few petal shreds as well. They mainly consist of the few yaungol that have joined the revolution, periodically launching guerilla attacks on mogu forces."

"What's holding you back, then?" Jarod asked.

"The mogu are still strong, despite the loss of the Engine of Nalak'sha. In addition, many members of allied races, the bulk of them being pandaren slaves, are still being held by the mogu. If we attack, there is a high possibility that the mogu will kill them. The jinyu waterspeakers also warn against an early final push. But even so, we are not just sitting by and doing nothing. Grummles, former messengers and deliverymen for the mogu, are now stopping food and news from being delivered to the mogu. With their help, we've been able to capture several mogu sites by surprise, and the grummle help to stop the news of much of our exploits from reaching other mogu."

"I see," Zilinto was quite absorbed into Kang's explanations by now. "And I deduce that you're also trying to stop the trolls from providing help to the mogu?"

"Indeed, that's why you were tasked to kill the mogu diplomat, Buyuk. If the trolls were to lend their full support to the mogu, I'm afraid that the revolution will be lost," Kang said. "Speaking of mogu sites, a contingent of pandaren and jinyu are planning to attack the city of Guo-Lai, in the western part of the Vale. I will be there personally to lead the soldiers into battle. What do you two think about joining me in the attack on Guo-Lai?"

"It is an honour to serve," Zilinto put a hand over his heart. "When will the attack begin?"

"Exactly four days' time. Do you wish to fight in this battle, Jarod?"

Jarod said, "I will fight alongside you and Zilinto."

"Terrific. I will reveal to you the battle plans closer to the attack."


	4. Chapter 3

Zilinto, Jarod and Kang spied on Guo-Lai, which was visible in the distance. Surrounding the walled city was farmland, tended to by pandaren slaves while being kept watched by mogu soldiers wielding bone whips.

"Since the revolution began, the mogu have been more wary of the pandaren slaves. In this case, they were afraid that the pandaren slaves could launch an attack from inside the city, so all the slaves now work and rest entirely outside the city walls. That makes it easier for us to rescue the slaves," Kang explained.

Jarod spoke, "Zilinto's not the only one with tricks up his sleeve. I might be young and not as powerful as other night elves, but growing up in Elun'dris has granted me some powers and some tutelage under a sorcerer has allowed me to better wield those powers. I can demonstrate to you two, but we must get closer."

"I'll try to get you as close as possible without risk of detection," Kang said, starting to move off towards Guo-Lai.

About a minute and a half later, the trio stopped and hid behind a boulder. Kang told Jarod, "This is as far as we can get, night elf."

"Good enough for me. My thanks, Kang." Jarod proceeded to get to work, closing his eyes and concentrating intensely.

Ten seconds of silence later, Jarod's eyes fluttered open and he stretched out a hand, his palm facing outwards. A sphere of light gathered around the extended hand and purple bolts of magic began swirling around Jarod. He started to continuously fire purple magic bolts at the mogu watching over the pandaren slaves. By the time Jarod was done, he had fired a few dozen of those magic bolts and eliminated most of the mogu soldiers.

"I'm impressed," Zilinto commented. "Looks like you elves are quite powerful as well. Perhaps in a few centuries, you elves will rise to power, maybe even overshadowing us trolls!"

"That is a possibility. Now, enough chatting, we should get started," Kang pulled out his wooden stave, made from the sturdy trees of Kun-Lai Summit, and charged into battle.

Upon seeing what was unmistakably the Fist of First Dawn, Kang, rushing into battle, the pandaren slaves present gained courage and morale, turning on what was left of the mogu soldiers guarding them. Zilinto and Jarod, following closely behind Kang, summoned spells when needed to protect Kang and the pandaren slaves from possible danger.

Over the next five minutes, Kang, Zilinto and Jarod freed the pandaren slaves and marched back to their camp north of Guo-Lai, with about one hundred freed pandarens tagging along. It had essentially been a one-sided massacre with the mogu on the losing side and no casualties at all on the winning side, at least not yet.  
"Have the tunnels been dug?" Kang asked the hozen gathered at the camp.

One of the hozen stepped forward and replied, "Yes, as per your instructions. Tunnel A will bring you to the cellar of a house in the western side of the city and Tunnel B will bring you to the cellar of a house in the eastern part of Guo-Lai."

"Well done," Kang praised. "Now, Jarod, you'll lead a force of pandaren and jinyu to cause a ruckus in front of the city gates. While the mogu are distracted there, the bulk of the soldiers, led by Zilinto and I, will use the tunnels to enter Guo-Lai and attack it from within. Is it alright?"

The gathered forces roared in agreement.

Kang raised his stave and pointed in the direction of Guo-Lai. "Justice to our people!"

Led by Jarod Shadowsong, a contingent of pandaren, jinyu warriors and jinyu priests assaulted the city gates. Within minutes, dozens of mogu had been deployed to defend the gates, including a mogu sorcerer who had a stone elemental companion.

"Jinyu, to the sorcerer!" Jarod yelled, pointing at the robed mogu.

The mogu sorcerer responded by summoning several more stone elementals, before directing them to attack the converging jinyu warriors and priests.

Even though Jarod was a distance away, he could manipulate the magic inside the stone elementals, forcing the magic out of the elementals and rendering them useless. Without his constructs, the sorcerer was significantly weaker and was quickly overpowered by the jinyu.

Meanwhile, the other rebels were finishing off the last of the mogu defenders, when an additional wave of reinforcements arrived to protect Guo-Lai. The reinforcements were notably stronger, having more sorcerers, better equipped soldiers and even a mogu beastmaster, who was unleashing quilen and goats trained for battle on the invaders.

Jarod, knowing that the pandaren and jinyu would not last long against the new wave of defenders, ordered a retreat. Besides, Kang, Zilinto and the infiltrators had already probably entered Guo-Lai. His words penetrated through the noise of battle, and the troops followed the order immediately.

As the pandaren and jinyu retreated, alarm bells inside Guo-Lai were sounded, which could be heard even outside the walls. From the alarm bells, Jarod knew that Kang and Zilinto's group had begun their attack from inside the city.

Zilinto was pulling his mithril spear out of a mogu guardsman's neck when he heard the alarm bells ring. He saw Kang bite his lip and freeze momentarily.

"Quick, fight your way to the palace!" Kang told his troops. "But remember, stay away from the flesh of the innocent!"

The rebels were an unstoppable wave of death, destroying anyone or anything in their way. Soon, they had reached Guo-Lai Palace. A dozen or so of mogu spearmen had lined up on the wide staircase leading up to the palace gates, their spears pointed at the rebels.

"Give up, and we will spare your lives," Kang offered.

A mogu nobleman, whose armour was bright golden and had a battleaxe slung on his back, flung open the palace gates and stood on the portico. "I am surprised that you rebels made it this far. But I'm afraid I'll have to cut short your journey."

As if on cue, armed men poured out of the palace gates, taking up positions along the staircase and around the nobleman. Upon closer inspection, Zilinto found that they were not actually men at all. They were in fact, artificial constructs.

"Let me introduce you all to the Stoneborn, artificial warriors created by and one hundred percent loyal to us, the mogu. I would love to stay, but the Stoneborn have work to do and so do I," the nobleman returned into the palace and vanished from sight, while the mogu constructs and spearmen struck at the rebels.

Seeing a seemingly endless wave of mogu constructs emerge from the palace gates, the rebel forces trembled in fear. Kang instructed, "Fall back to the tunnels, now!"

While the rebels made a retreat, Zilinto materialised earthen walls to slow down the Stoneborn. They helped, but not very much, as the Stoneborn would slam their stone bodies into the walls until they or the earth walls broke.

"This way, this way!" Kang ushered the last of the rebels into the house which one of the hozen tunnels led to. Zilinto formed an earth barrier, making it as thick as he could, to protect the house from the Stoneborn as long as possible.

A hozen was standing by the tunnel entrance, ready to destroy the entrance once everyone had gotten into it. Zilinto, Kang and the hozen were the last three to enter the tunnel, using it to get out of Guo-Lai.

Emerging from the tunnel just outside the camp, Kang did a headcount of his rebels. A few pandaren and jinyu had died in the battle, and more importantly, Zilinto was nowhere to be found.

"Jarod!" Kang called out. "Where's Zilinto? Is he around here somewhere?"

"Wasn't he with you in the tunnels?" Jarod was puzzled.

Just then, a bone-chilling roar filled the skies of the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. A red wyrm, much larger than the drakes Zilinto and Jarod had encountered in Zul'Gurub, appeared in the horizon, flying towards Guo-Lai.


	5. Chapter 4

The moment it was close enough to the walled city, the enormous red dragon breathed fire on it. Many buildings and even the walls caught on fire. The wyrm showed no mercy, continuing to breathe fire onto Guo-Lai.

Jarod, Kang and the other rebels were watching the spectacle from their camp. Some of the rebels were stricken with fear, others with awe. Jarod himself was amazed.

"Very likely this dragon will not be of any harm to us," Jarod remarked. "I sense nobility and honour in this red dragon, as well as some kind of familiarity, though I do not know why."

Little did they know, this massive red dragon was actually Tyranastrasz, Prime Consort of the Red Dragonflight. He was older than even Alexstrasza, the Dragonqueen and was known as The Scholarly One among his kin.

In minutes, the entire city of Guo-Lai had been razed to the ground. None of the Stoneborn and mogu were visible, all of them presumably killed in the attack. The walls had been largely destroyed, so had been Guo-Lai Palace. Grunting in what seemed to be satisfaction, the humongous dragon landed on the burning ruins of the city and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Zilinto will have a lot to answer for when he returns," Kang said gravely. "That dragon did not even spare a thought for the civilians living inside Guo-Lai! How many innocents died in the dragon's attack, none of us will ever know."

"Did someone call for me?" a familiar voice rang out as a Zandalari troll made his way through the crowd of rebels, where Kang and Jarod were. "What happened?"

Kang exasperatedly pointed to the remnants of Guo-Lai. "This happened. Care to explain why your friend did this?"

"My friend? Oh, that was Tyranastrasz, Prime Consort of the Red Dragonflight. I apologise in his stead, but I cannot speak for all the actions the Red Dragonflight make," Zilinto got slightly displeased, but hid it from Kang. "Besides, the red dragons consider themselves noble and honourable, as well as protectors of all life on this planet. Tyranastrasz would have had a very good reason for razing Guo-Lai like that."

Kang sighed and bowed his head. "You have a point, Zilinto. My sincerest apologies. I shouldn't have assumed. Anyways, we must depart back home as soon as possible. No doubt the mogu will send forces to pursue us."

Returning to the monastery in Kun-Lai Summit, the rebel forces celebrated their victory, as well as the liberation of the pandaren slaves. Most of the slaves, wanting to fight for their people's freedom, joined Kang's forces, further bolstering the rebels' numbers.

"Zilinto, as much as I want you to fight by me, I'm afraid you can't, not at the moment, at least. Tieshao has urgently requested for available troops. He did not tell me why, but I suppose it's an important matter," Kang revealed. "Jarod, how about you accompany Zilinto to assist Tieshao?"

"No problem. But, who is Tieshao?"

"Tieshao is one of the first pandaren to pledge their lives to the revolution. He's well versed in the arts of magic, having learned it in secret from the troll shaman he was serving," Kang told Jarod. "Zilinto can bring you to Tieshao's hut."

"Come, I can teleport us there now," Zilinto said.

"Godspeed, and good luck to you two."

The hut was quiet and there were no beasts roaming around it, which was a good sign as it meant that the barriers and illusory magic placed on the structure still remained.

Zilinto knocked on the door of the hut and called out, "Tieshao, are you there?"

"Oh, Zilinto, is that you? Come in, come in!"

Inside the hut, Tieshao lay on the bed, barely conscious and with hideous wounds running down his topless body.

"By Aman'Thul! What happened, Tieshao?" Zilinto was stunned at seeing his comrade in this state.

"You look like you've seen a ghost! Relax, relax!" Tieshao chuckled, but the chuckle escalated into a coughing fit. "I suppose you and Jarod will want to know what happened to me. I'll give you a short version of it."

"A pandaren named Song and I went to the city of Zul'Farrak, west of here, to rescue a group of enslaved pandaren. However, the Sandfury trolls there had prepared an ambush for us, knowing sooner or later someone will come to free the pandaren slaves. I managed to escape, Song did not. He has been imprisoned in Zul'Farrak with the other slaves."

"You escaped, though not without wounds, as I see it?" Jarod motioned at Tieshao's wounded body. "I suppose we should hurry to rescue Song and the enslaved pandaren. Who knows what things the Sandfury trolls will do to them? Even among trolls, the Sandfury are relatively merciless."

Zul'Farrak was located in the dry and hot desert of Tanaris. An entire squad of Sandfury soldiers stood watch outside the city gate, extremely well equipped. They were ready for any kind of invasion, but not for any kind of infiltration.

"They never learn," Zilinto mumbled as he walked up to the Sandfury trolls.

"May the Loa be with you, Zandalari," a Sandfury troll said politely. "What brings you two here to Zul'Farrak?"

"King Khuari has ordered both of us to inspect the defense features of this city, to make sure it is prepared to defend against a pandaren attack," Jarod fabricated a backstory. "You all might not know, but one of the pandaren imprisoned within Zul'Farrak, is an important member of the rebels of the ongoing revolution."

"I will get word of this to Commander Otho'ell. Once he approves I will permit you two into the city," the troll informed. "Apologies, but I am only following orders."

Ten minutes later, the city gate opened and a hulking figure appeared. His armour's design was more intricate than the Sandfury soldiers', and this troll seemed to have an aura of authority around him.

"I am Otho'ell the Devoted, Governor of Zul'Farrak and the commander of all of its forces. You two must be the Zandalari trolls that were mentioned to me," the giant troll spoke. "How can I truly believe that you two were sent by King Khuari, and not some pandaren-loving trolls?"

Jarod was at a loss for a split second until Zilinto returned, "It is the garbs we wear. To don the dressing of a Zandalari priest without the blessing of the Loa is outright blasphemy."

"Fair point. I allow you two entry into the city. However, if I see you two trying anything funny, I'll have both of you thrown into the prisons, where I doubt even your King can save you."


End file.
